Jordi Torres closed 14th in Race2 at Magny-Cours, home of the last European round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship 2018. De Rosa and Badovini ended up the WorldSSP race in P7 and P12 respectively.
WorldSBK – Race2
With the second WorldSBK race of the week-end, it ends an uphill round for Jordi Torres, who wasn’t able to find the right feeling with the 4-cylinderItalian machine on the French circuit of Nevers Magny-Cours. Starting from the 15th position on the grid, Torres struggled to recover the gap with the top positions, also due to the strong traffic of riders involved. In the final stages, the Spaniard engages a close battle with Leandro Mercado, before being able to pass him three laps from the end of the race, crossing the finish line in 14th position.
WorldSSP – Race
De Rosa opens with a solid start the 19-lap race of the French Round of WorldSSP, with the Italian settling stable in the seventh position. The solid and constant race pace on the MV Agusta F3 675 allows the Italian to ends up 7th under the chequered flag. With this last placement, it ends the series of six podiums in a row obtained by De Rosa in the last six races.
Starting from the third row on the grid, Ayrton Badovini gave battle inside the score-point area, going to cross the finish line in the 12th position.
Jordi Torres – During the warmup, we managed to make some changes to the bike but the race was really tough. We made some steps forward with the feeling at the rear but we still lack something in the entry and during each turn. The new big tire at the rear made the bike more nervous and difficult to ride, so we still need some time to refine the setting in the most appropriate way. The team always does a great job and I’m confident that in Argentina we will be able to aim for a much better position.
Raffaele De Rosa – All in all, it has been the race we expected. Unlike the last rounds, we met some problems with the bike that did not allow us to aim to the podium. In any case, we have certainly collected the best possible result and we are ready to be back with the front guys in the last two races.
Ayrton Badovini – It was a very difficult weekend and we couldn’t fully express our potential. I’m sorry because on several occasions we have shown to be fast but unfortunately in this race we lacked a bit ‘of constancy. There are two races left and I will do my best to close the championship in the best way.
